Book Launch for Barrelling Forward by Eva Crocker with music by Yee Girlz

Eva will read from her new short story collection Barrelling Forward, followed by a set from Yee Grlz!

In Barrelling Forward objects, rituals, and scenes of everyday life take on an almost mythic quality, even while remaining intimately recognizable to us all. Crocker peers at the underbelly of poverty and work, ambition and apathy, loneliness and love, to find the sliver of beauty in each spot. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems: the boundaries between friendship
and sex dissolve; power relationships are turned on their heads, if only long enough to examine them from all angles; transgressions and escapes become new kinds of traps. In “Auditioning,” a young twin makes a desperate attempt to reclaim her individuality. In “Serving,” a father and a son give parallel accounts of what it looks like when you let life eat you from the inside out. In “Star of the Sea,” a man watches his past get literally torn down before his eyes. And in the Cuffer Prize−winning “Skin and Mud,” an after-school walk through the barrens leaves two boys forever changed.

In stories that ache with longing even as they pulse with new possibilities, Crocker gives us an unforgettable array of ordinary people, sometimes soaring, sometimes sinking, but always, ultimately, barrelling forward towards what’s next. Vivid, sexy, funny, and raw, this is a marvel of a debut from one of Canada’s most thrilling new writers.

Yee Grlz’ debut album, Party Streak is full of punky anthems to get you through everyday life in our dreary little city. Catherine Roberge’s lyrics are smart and succinct, playful and smoulderingly angry at the same time. ‘vacation’s over’ tackles the mundanity of ploughing through the work day when you’re “all fucked up inside”, ‘for the guys’ is frustrated appeal to women who value the attention of men over solidarity with other women and ‘marissa’ is a catchy ode to the flaxen-haired O.C. protagonist that just might be pulsing with queer undertones.

Yee Grlz sound is defined by Becky Gibson’s racing guitar riffs, the steady thrum of Jess Gibson on bass, the driving force of Jess Barry on drums and Roberge’s sometimes sweet, sometimes screechy vocals. This is a band with undeniable chemistry and the fun their having is contagious.